COLORECTAL CANCER TO KNOW

The passing of one of the World’s Superhero caught the world by surprise and finding out that colon cancer was the cause is devastating to all.

Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther in Marvel’s blockbuster movie franchise, who also played Black American icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown died age 43.

 When we hear of colorectal (cancer of the colon and rectal) cancer, it is often associated with older adults, but it seems to be rising in younger adults too.  “While incidence rates of colorectal cancer dropped by 3.6% each year from 2007 to 2016 in adults age 55 and older, they rose by 2% each year in adults under age 55”.

 Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women each year in the United States according to the American Cancer Society's (ACS).

Here are some facts we found out about Colorectal cancer that you should be aware of:

1.     First and foremost, when colorectal cancer is found early, it can often be cured. This is good news to hear.

2.     The 5-year survival rate – the percentage of people who lives at least 5 years after they found out colorectal cancer is about 64%, but the survival rates can vary based on several other factors like the stage of the cancer.

3.     For colon cancer, the overall 5-year survival rate for people is 63%.

• If the cancer is diagnosed at a very early stage and has not spread from where it started, the survival rate is 90%.

• 71% for 5-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to the surrounding tissue or organs.

• 14% for 5-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to distant part of the body. 

4.     HPV and Colon cancer: Human papillomavirus, HPV infection is a viral infection that commonly causes growth on skin or mucous membrane growths (warts). There are more than 100 varieties of (HPV) with some types causing warts, and some can cause different types of cancer.

 We often hear of how HPV is associated with cervical cancer but according to a research by NIH, HPV infection may also play a role in colorectal cancer. Most common types associated with cervical cancer are HPV 16, 18, 31 and 45 with HPV 16 the most common type associated with colorectal cancer.

5.     Prevention- Although there is no proven way to prevent this disease, knowing your risk factors and lowering them can be the key. Some of the risk factors for developing colorectal cancer are age, gender, family history of colorectal cancer, race, smoking, nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity, certain rare inherited conditions and more.

You may ask, what are the early warning signs of colon cancer? At first, there may be no obvious signs or symptoms at the early stage I or there may be a change in bowel habits like: 

• Constipation

• Change in frequency of bowel movements

• Change in consistency of stool (loose or watery stools)

• Blood in stools (either as bright red spots or dark tar-like stools)

• Rectal bleeding

• Abdominal pain, bloating or cramps

• A persistent feeling that you cannot completely empty your bowels

Again, prevention and early detection is the key. A colonoscopy is one of several screening tests for colorectal cancer. If you have any concerns and questions, NOW is the time to call and follow up your doctor.

REFERENCES:

1.Bodaghi, S., Yamanegi, K., Xiao, S. Y., Da Costa, M., Palefsky, J. M., & Zheng, Z. M. (2005). Colorectal papillomavirus infection in patients with colorectal cancer. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 11(8), 2862–2867. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-1680

2. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/colorectal-cancer/statistics

3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hpv-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20351596

4. https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/colorectal-cancer/symptoms

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman

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